2nd Generation Rx7

**** Water Pump Replacement ****

Written by Dave Gibson

Photos by Dave Gibson







If your car has high mileage or you think that it is time to replace your water pump, here is how to change it. You will need basic tools, including a 10MM,12MM, and 14MM socket with ratchet. You will also need basic screwdrivers, a putty knife or die grinder with a wire wheel or the like to remove the old gasket on the water pump housing. Here is what we are starting with. Below is a picture of the new water pump with gasket kit and the engine area that you will be working with after the stock fan and shroud are removed (if you have them installed)











Start by removing the upper radiator hose from the thermostat neck and setting it aside. Then continue by loosening the air pump and alternator from their adjustment brackets so that you can remove the belts from the pulleys. Remove the belts from their accessory pulleys and lay them to the side. We will remove them when we remove the main pulley.

Now remove the brackets that hold on the airpump and the alternator and lay them to the side. Make sure not to hit the hot lead on the alternator to a grounded piece of metal as it will scare the **** out of you when it sparks! Also you will want to remove the A/C and P/S belts if you have these accessories installed. They both are loosened at the same location.




















Now remove the main pulley's 4 10MM bolts. It only goes on one way so you don't have to worry about marking it. Then once that is removed and set aside, remove the water pump pulley from the water pump and put it aside.

Here is what you should have left. Now loosen the BOLTS that hold the water pump to the housing so that you can remove them later when the whole thing is removed. Then remove the NUTS off completely from the water pump housing so you can remove the whole assembly and clear it form the car. You may have to remove the retainer brackets that hold on the oil metering pump lines to clear the water pump housing. Be very careful not to break these lines, as they are $10 a piece from Mazda. Also now that the water pump housing is away from the block, you can unplug the water temp sensor behind it. Make sure not to loose the wire clip that is on the connector.







Now is the time to remove the old water pump from the pump housing. Go ahead and set it aside as you will not need it any longer. Now comes the hardest part: removing the old gasket from the housing on both sides. Also don't forget to check the front cover of the engine to make sure that there isn't any gasket left on it where the pump housing meets with it. This can be done with either a putty knife, or pneumatic tools, but be careful not to remove the material on the pump housing as it may lead to leaks.

Now that you have everything cleaned off and ready to reassemble, rinse off the housing to make sure that no foreign debris is left. Now dry the housing with a towel or compressed air. First thing to do is to install the new water pump in the housing. On the housing, place the new water pump gasket. I used some permatex to help to hold the gasket in place while installing the pump, and to help with the seal. This is not required but helps alot in my opinion. Once the gasket is in place, install the new water pump and screw in the 3 bolts that hold it in place. Do not over tighten these bolts as the housing is aluminum and can strip easily.

































Now flip over the housing and install the housing to engine gasket. Again I used Permatex to ensure a good seal on the engine. I put it on both sides of this gasket. Don't forget to reinstall the water temp sensor before you mount the pump back onto the engine. Now place the water pump assembly on the engine, and reinstall the nuts that hold it in place. Use a cross pattern to install the nuts and to tighten down the bolts on the water pump itself so as to ensure a good seal. Once the assembly is installed, install the new stock fan bolts into the pulley wheel (if you are using a stock fan) and then it is just a matter of reinstalling the stock accessories that we took off from before. Make sure to go over all of you attachments before you put the fan and shroud back on as it makes things alot easier with them out of the way.



Overall this is an easy job to do and only takes about an hour depending on how fast you can work, and how comfortable you are working on your FC. This info is from fc3s.org

[msmith]

Originally Posted by the_saint

**** Water Pump Replacement ****

Written by Dave Gibson

Photos by Dave Gibson
If your car has high mileage or you think that it is time to replace your water pump, here is how to change it. You will need basic tools, including a 10MM,12MM, and 14MM socket with ratchet. You will also need basic screwdrivers, a putty knife or die grinder with a wire wheel or the like to remove the old gasket on the water pump housing. Here is what we are starting with. Below is a picture of the new water pump with gasket kit and the engine area that you will be working with after the stock fan and shroud are removed (if you have them installed)
Start by removing the upper radiator hose from the thermostat neck and setting it aside. Then continue by loosening the air pump and alternator from their adjustment brackets so that you can remove the belts from the pulleys. Remove the belts from their accessory pulleys and lay them to the side. We will remove them when we remove the main pulley.

hi i appreciated you instructions but it would be great if you really post some pictures i cant see the pictures you are talking about..but great instructions thanks dude